Millennial Dad Zak Daughtry Raised His Daughter With One Hand and A Real Estate Empire With The Other

Millennial Dad Zak Daughtry Raised His Daughter With One Hand and A Real Estate Empire With The Other

When we first sat down with Zak Daughtry, it quickly became apparent that he was on a trajectory towards the classic story of real estate success: wandering through careers, finding a great real estate team, struggling through initial growth, and then massively scaling into investing, flipping, and more. Oh, and did we mention he’s 26 years old?

BUILDING KNOWLEDGE

Zak was born and raised in Tampa, and went to college at UCF. Even though we’re sure he did plenty of studying, founding and playing on UCF’s world-class paintball team probably made him more resilient and discipled than any Business 101 course ever could.

During college and beyond, Zak gained experience in a variety of different industries. He learned direct sales and marketing through in-person promotion of the Honest Tea brand, worked in a metal fabrication shop that fueled his lifelong love for fixing cars, and finally set his sights on real estate.

But just when he had found his dream job, things were about to get much, much harder.

BUILDING RESILIENCE

During his very first year of being a real estate agent, Zak was blessed with one of the best gifts he would ever receive: a beautiful baby daughter. Unfortunately, he and his partner went separate ways shortly thereafter, which threw Zak into the deep end of learning to be a great father and businessman at the same time.

Imagine feeding your child with one hand, while typing up real estate contracts with the other. Imagine rocking her to sleep as you discussed deals and negotiations over the phone. Imagine driving to showings and meeting your clients while carrying a sleeping baby in a car seat (okay, that one was actually a slam dunk for Zak; no one could resist that level of cuteness).

This was Zak’s life, 24/7, for years. But through his absolute tenacity and love for his daughter, the deals began to roll in. He started making extremely high-profile connections, and quickly become an established name in Tampa and Lakeland real estate. But that wasn’t the end goal. As soon as Zak could invest in his first property, he took the plunge. After a successful flip, Zak is now expanding his portfolio.

BUILDING SUCCESS

Simply building a real estate empire is not what gets Zak up in the morning. It’s knowing that any deal he works on could be a life-changing move for someone struggling, just like he did.

In fact, his favorite story involves a family of five, unable to make their rental property payments. Zak couldn’t let this family be homeless, so he got to work. After months of searching, negotiating, and smashing obstacles, Zak found them a short sale home in a USDA area. They were able to get financing, move into their very own house, and now they make smaller mortgage payments than they did on rent. He will always remember the tears of joy shed at the closing table.

Zak could have chosen any real estate brokerage in Tampa, but he went with Gate Arty & the Group in Lakeland. The Group was highly recommended by close friends, and Zak was immediately hooked on the mentorship, training, technology, and teamwork.

Right now, Zak loves working with buyers in his own age group. He knows how tuned in he is to their specific wants, challenges, and lifestyles. There are also first-time homebuyers of every generation Zak knows he can serve. He is always on the lookout for short sales, potential flips, and new investments. We’re so excited about having Zak on the team, and can’t wait to see where he will succeed next.